The ongoing My Queer Blackness, My Black Queerness (MQBMBQ) digital project is expanding with an online platform called The Queer Black Italian Experience. This time around, founder and creative director Jordan Anderson has teamed up with Converse to create this new virtual safe space for Black Queer people in Italy.

“The decision to highlight black queerness in Italy is something that was born from intuition. […] I wanted to create a safe space for myself and others within the community to virtually link together and express ourselves among ourselves without the worry of the white gaze, while also basking in the beauty of our existence. I was particularly excited to create this with a brand like Converse because I've taken note that they have a vision parallel to mine in supporting the community and it allowed us the opportunity to work on this together on a national scale,” said Anderson in an interview with nss magazine. 

The purpose of the project, which features images by Silvia Rossi, is two-fold: in addition to showcasing and celebrating Black queerhood in Italy, it’s also aimed at denouncing any racism, homophobia, queerphobia and transphobia that also sadly forms part of the experience.

For the full stories and to keep up with the project's developments, visit MQBMBQ.com

All images by Silvia Rossi.